Brooklyn Roundhouse in Portland, Oregon is the home of three steam locomotives, the Southern Pacific #4449, the Spokane Portland & Seattle #700, and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation #197, all of whose initial place of repose after retirement in the 1950's was Oaks Park in southeast Portland. The 4449 arrived at Brooklyn Roundhouse in 1975 for restoration to pull the American Freedom Train, the 700 arrived at Brooklyn in 1987 to complete her restoration begun in the park, and the 197 arrived in 1996, while floodwaters were encroaching on Oaks Park, so her restoration could commence.
Our collective tenancy in that facility, although spanning 25+ years thus far, has always been vulnerable to termination upon fairly short notice. While we have long recognized the need for a permanent home for these magnificent machines, the ongoing effort to make it happen has been "picking up steam" lately with the formation of an umbrella organization dedicated to that purpose. Besides the three locomotive restoration groups, several other groups with related interests are allied with us in this cause.
The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation now (end of June 2002) has its own web site for dissemination of information.
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